An X-ray is a common medical procedure that is performed upon a patient in order to image an internal portion of a patient's body. The X-ray procedure is used to facilitate diagnosis of an injury or other medical ailment. During the X-ray procedure, an X-ray film cassette or carrier is placed under a portion of the patient's body. Proper positioning of the patient is very important to produce the desired image. Frequently the patient or body extremity has to be held in a specific orientation in order to adequately image the desired portion of the body. These orientations can be difficult to maintain and may in some cases be painful for the patient because the patient's body is in contact with the hard exterior of the X-ray film cassette.
It is common for the patient requiring an X-ray procedure to be injured or in poor health and thus the procedure becomes an unpleasant experience. For example, the patient may have a broken bone such as an arm or leg and positioning the injured extremity on a traditional X-ray film cassette is frequently painful for the patient. In another example, the patient may be elderly and/or underweight such that sensitive portions of the patient's body are susceptible to contacting the X-ray film carrier. For example, an elderly patient may require a chest X-ray. The chest X-ray requires that the film cassette be placed behind the back of the patient. During this procedure the patient has to lean back on the film cassette. In the case where the patient has protruding vertebrae, these vertebrae contact the hard exterior of the X-ray film cassette, which in turn causes the patient pain and discomfort.
A common approach to solve this problem and provide comfort for the patient is to place a sheet or pillowcase between the patient and the film cassette. While this approach is somewhat helpful, it frequently does not provide enough protection from the hard exterior surface of the film carrier. Additionally, the use of a pillowcase or sheet increases the risk of spreading germs, bacteria and infectious materials due to the difficulty in sterilizing these materials.
Another traditional attempt to provide patient comfort during the X-ray procedure is to place an entire pillow between the patient and the film cassette. This solution is undesired because of the decrease in image quality that is caused by the thick pillow obstructing and interfering with the imaging procedure. Additionally the pillow is extremely difficult to sanitize and thus increases the risk of spreading germs, bacteria and other infectious materials. Finally, this solution suffers from the disadvantage and difficulty in simultaneously positioning both the pillow and the X-ray film cassette with respect to the patient. This disadvantage is amplified when the patient is in pain or otherwise uncomfortable.
Therefore, it is apparent that there is a need for enhancing patient comfort during the X-ray procedure. Consequently, known efforts to enhance patient comfort and provide efficient/cost effective protection from the X-ray film cassette have not met with much success to date.